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Army

Army Has Restarted Robotic Mule Competition, New Contract Award Set For April

By Matthew Beinart

Tuesday, February 25th, 2020

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Army Has Restarted Robotic Mule Competition, New Contract Award Set For April

The SMET system developed by General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) negotiates terrain during the SMET Phase I Assessment in September at Fort Benning, Georgia (Photo: U.S. Army).

The Army has restarted its search to find unmanned ground robots to transport soldiers’ equipment after canceling the initial deal in the wake of a protest, with a new contract set to be awarded in April, the program office told Defense Daily on Tuesday. A new request for proposals has been sent directly to the four original finalists in the Small Multipurpose Equipment Transport (SMET) program, allowing each to recompete for the work. “In response to an unsuccessful contractor's protest…

Congress

House Republicans’ Blueprint For Reconciliation 3.0 Includes $60 Billion For Defense

House Republicans on Wednesday unveiled a blueprint for a third reconciliation bill that includes $60 billion for defense, a figure slightly below the Trump administration’s request to cover Iran war […]

Congress

Senate Dems Block Consideration Of FY ‘27 NDAA Over Iran War Concerns

Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked a vote to advance consideration of the chamber’s $1.14 trillion fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization (NDAA). The procedural vote was 46-50, failing to reach […]

Congress

Concerns Raised At SASC Hearing On Unobligated Reconciliation Funds And Lack Of Updates On Iran War Cost

Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) raised concerns at a hearing on Tuesday about the majority of funds in the $153 billion first reconciliation bill being unobligated thus […]

Unmanned Systems

CBO Says Upfront Costs To Protect Military Installations From Drones Between $1 Million And $74 Million

The initial costs to acquire and deploy counter-small unmanned aircraft system (C-sUAS) defenses at individual Defense Department installations are estimated at between $1.2 million and $73.6 million depending on the […]